INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

Customer Experience Specialist

August 2022 Ref:CES221
 INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

Welcome to the Legal Ombudsman

Thank you for your interest in working as a Customer Experience Specialist at the Legal
Ombudsman (LeO). To help you understand the role and how to apply, you will find the
following information within this pack:

• Full role profile, which includes a summary of the role, key responsibilities and person
specification detailing the qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience required;
• Information about the salary and benefits on offer; and
• Details of the application and selection process.

Our equal opportunities statement

The Legal Ombudsman is an equal opportunities employer. All applicants will be treated
in a fair and equal manner and in accordance with the law, regardless of gender, marital
status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation.

We believe being a diverse organisation makes us a better employer and benefits our
customers. As an organisation we are committed to attracting, recruiting and retaining
staff from a diverse range of backgrounds.

We have a wide range of policies, networks and guidelines to support our people’s
different needs throughout their career with us.

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About the Legal Ombudsman

The Legal Ombudsman was set up in 2010. In this time we have helped thousands of
consumers and their legal service providers resolve complaints about the service which
has been provided. Our job is to guide consumers and service providers through the
complaints process.

The majority of our workforce is made up of investigators and ombudsmen who

investigate these complaints. Our corporate services teams include HR, Finance, IT,
Legal and External Affairs, who ensure we are working effectively and have the systems
to support our customers and colleagues.

Our customer service principles

The Legal Ombudsman is committed to delivering high quality customer service in a
timely and flexible way that meets the needs of individuals and ensures a fair investigation
and resolution of disputes.

Our customer service principles reflect our core values. They apply to our work with
complainants and service providers, our work in the wider legal sector as well as how
colleagues work together.

Our values: Open, Fair, Independent,

Effective

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 INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

About the role

It’s a really exciting time to join the Customer Experience team at the
Legal Ombudsman.

The Customer Experience Specialist is responsible for managing and appropriately

responding to some service complaint escalations and stage 1 service complaints
raised about LeO’s own service, in line with the service complaints procedure.

Job Description
Team / Customer Experience
department:
Reports to: Senior Ombudsman
Direct reports: N/A
Grade DA3 - £34,776 to £37,801

Role purpose.
The postholder should provide clear and accurate advice; support; and information to all
stakeholders, maintaining a professional approach, promoting best practice and
achieving outstanding customer service.

Key Responsibilities
• Act as the first point of contact in respect of all stage 1 service complaints and
some service escalations; resolving and responding to each escalation or service
complaint within an appropriate timescale via phone, letter or email;
• Review, update, action and feedback on LeO’s service appropriately;
• Record and maintain all service complaint information, ensuring it is up to date
and accurate
• Provide support and guidance to staff on issues relating to potential service
complaints;
• Work with the Senior Ombudsman in respect of stage two service complaints,
themes and trends, ensuring consistency of approach, and continuous
improvement;
• Take ownership of complaints, ensuring a fair and reasonable outcome; and
• Work in partnership with all levels of staff within LeO to ensure we meet all
compliance and governance requirements, ensure all relevant standards,
timescales and procedures are met and to drive continuous improvement in
these areas.
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General

Adhere to all Legal Ombudsman policies and procedures.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties, the job description and person specification are an
outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. It does not define
all individual tasks, which may be expected to change from time to time to meet
operational needs

The job holder will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by their line
manager.

Person Specification
Criteria Essential Desirable
General Must be able to demonstrate a suitable level of Contribute to
skills/Attributes analytical skill. service
improvements.
Actively listen and extract key information.
Consider the
To communicate clearly and concisely, verbally and bigger picture and
in writing, to a diverse audience. look beyond
individual matters
Establish trust and confidence with internal and to identify and
external customers. tackle operational,
and on occasions,
Handle challenging situations and difficult phone strategic issues.
calls in a calm and professional manner.
Contribute to the
Produce concise, clear and simple written material, development of
including letters and reports. knowledge within
the organisation.
Work under pressure, prioritise effectively, meet
deadlines and achieve targets.

Work on own initiative with minimal supervision;

whilst also working as a team.

Be prepared to seek and accept guidance when

uncertain.

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Develop own knowledge and skills & share these
with others.

Give and accept feedback about performance and

to help others develop.

Proven experience of managing and resolving Experience in

Knowledge & service complaints in a busy customer service investigative
Experience environment. principles and
methods.
Experience of quickly understanding and analysing
complex material and advising others on approach. Knowledge or
experience of
Experience with MS office packages.
using mediation or
Must be able to demonstrate experience of working alternative dispute
in a customer service environment or another resolution
recognised complaints handling scheme, delivering techniques.
consistently excellent service.
Experience of
supervising others,
including:
monitoring;
motivating;
mentoring;
coaching; or
performance
management.

Qualifications Five GCSE Grades A - C or GCSE O Level passes Degree level or

(or equivalent), including English Language and equivalent
Maths.

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How we work
Our approach to hybrid working
Our technology and connectivity allow our colleagues to work remotely, but we believe
there is still an important role for the office, one that’s difficult to match in a remote-working
environment. Therefore, we operate a hybrid-working model, based on 60% home-
working and 40% office-working at our Quay Place office in Birmingham.

Our office in Birmingham is where we get to collaborate, bounce ideas off each other and
develop relationships that help us to deliver for our customers.

Of course, hybrid working may not be for everyone, you may wish to work for more than
40% in the office, and that’s no problem! Our modern, open-plan office is based in one
of the most vibrant locations in Birmingham – canal side, opposite Brindley Place.

Our office is easily accessible by bike and car, with parking facilities available to purchase
on site. We’re also a short walk from New Street train station.

We work flexibly

Whether you’re a parent, a carer, or just have a busy lifestyle, we know it’s not always
easy to commit to standard working hours. So, we offer a range of flexible working
arrangements that will let you balance your life between home and work.

Flexi-time - Our flexi-time scheme allows you to have an element of flexibility over your
working hours. The purpose of the scheme is to allow you to effectively manage your
work and personal commitments.

It involves flexible start and finish times around within the limitations of the office opening
hours (the earliest and latest times between which hours can be worked) which allows
you more choice, subject to operational requirements, over your working hours.

All colleagues are eligible for our flexi-time scheme, however for individuals undergoing
training as part of your induction, we may require you to work set hours to ensure you get
the very best out of your induction programme.

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Flexible working applications – Where our informal flexible working arrangements do

not meet your flexible working needs, we encourage colleagues to discuss their formal
flexible needs with their manager. Note that in some jobs, we might not be able to offer
flexible hours for business reasons, but we’ll consider your application for formal flexible
working where we can. Speak to your hiring manager or recruiter about which options
work for you and for us.

Terms of employment
Contract
The role of Customer Experience Specialist is full time, permanent.

Salary
The salary for the role is £34,776, with possible progression to £37,801. Salary is paid
monthly by credit transfer.

Hours of work
The successful candidate will be required to work a minimum of 37.5 hours per week,
excluding lunch breaks. You will be required to work such additional hours as is
reasonable and necessary for the efficient performance of your duties.

Probation
There is a probationary period of six months for all new colleagues. Subject to
satisfactory performance, the successful candidate will be transferred to permanent
establishment at the end of their probation.

Our rewards and benefits

We also offer a range of additional financial and non-financial benefits. These include:

Celebrating Success Scheme

‘Celebrating Success’ is our reward and recognition scheme which gives thanks and
celebrates the excellent contribution our colleagues. The scheme operates through peer-
to-peer and management recognition in three ways:

1. By saying ‘Thank you’ – nominating individuals to receive a ‘thank you’ from our
Executive colleagues, line managers or peers.
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2. Through ‘Instant Recognition’ – colleagues can be awarded gift vouchers of up to

£100 to spend at many high-street retailers.

3. Via a ‘Monthly Award’ – to recognise and celebrate significant achievements or

efforts, colleagues can be rewarded up to £1,000 for a single award.

The scheme allows for a maximum payment of £2,000 per year for individuals, via Instant
Recognition, Monthly Awards or a combination of both.

Holiday and travel

Annual Leave

You will be entitled to 26 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays each year. Colleagues
can buy or sell up to an additional 4 days’ leave each year.

Season ticket loans

We offer interest-free season ticket loans for travel between home and the office.

Pension arrangements
You will be eligible to join our Stakeholder Pension Scheme. The Legal Ombudsman will
double your contribution up to 10%.

Lifestyle and discounts

Our colleagues have access to a range of benefits via our ‘My Lifestyle’ scheme. This is
a voluntary benefits scheme where staff have access to exclusive discounts on a range
of goods and services such as retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance and gym
membership.

Professional and career development

Regular professional development
We provide colleagues with the right experiences, training, knowledge and skills to carry
out their roles effectively through a combination of on-the-job learning, development
opportunities and formal training.

Professional membership fees

We pay your professional membership fees for professional bodies relevant to your role.

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Wellbeing
Employee Assistance Programme
Our colleagues have 24/7 access to:

• Telephone support available all day, every day.

• Health and Wellbeing Portal.
• Information and advice on a wide range of issues including legal, financial and
family or relationships.
• Counselling Services, available via telephone or face-to-face.

Occupational Health
Our Occupational Health providers give advice on workplace adjustments that could help
you to be at your best at work when managing a health concern.

Wellbeing Champions
Our wellbeing champions run regular wellbeing initiatives to help us feel our best and to
do our best at work. They are trained Mental Health First Aiders and can provide support
within the workplace.

Group Income Protection

Our Group Income Protection Scheme provides colleagues with a regular income if they
cannot work due to long-term sickness or injury. This also includes rehabilitation support
to help colleagues back to work, where appropriate.

Life assurance
We provide life assurance to our colleagues to the value of six times your annual salary.

Working comfortably
We provide free eye tests and contributions towards lenses and spectacles for VDU
users. We also carry out DSE assessments to understand your personal workstation
needs.

Facilities

Our office provides a quiet room for meditation or prayer and separate rooms with
shower facilities.

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Selection and onboarding

How to apply
Applications can be made through our online recruitment portal and should include:

• Completion of the online application form (CVs will not be accepted)

• A detailed supporting statement that clearly explains how you meet the criteria set
out in the person specification. It should be no more than two pages in length and
should have examples to help us understand how your skills, knowledge and
experience are transferable to this role.

It is important that you follow the instructions above to enable your application to be
reviewed fairly alongside the criteria.

The closing date for applications is 12pm Monday 22 August 2022. We will be
unable to accept applications after this date.

Pre-employment screening
Any offer of appointment will be subject to satisfactory completion of security and pre-
employment checks in line with the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Further
information about the security checking procedure is available on request.

Data protection
We will use your application only to inform the selection process, after which we will
destroy it. If you are successful, it will form the basis of your personal record with us and
we will store it in manual and electronic files. We will hold any data about you in
completely secure conditions, with restricted access.

We will include data that you provide on the diversity monitoring form in a general
database for statistical monitoring purposes only, enabling us to monitor the effectiveness
of our policy on equal opportunities in employment. Individuals will not be identified by
name.

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Contact us
If you have any queries or issues with your application you should email
[email protected] During busy times it may take between 48-72
hours for us to respond to your query.

Thank you for your interest in working with us. We look

forward to receiving your application!

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